NationStates Jolt Archive

Rustov Maxellian, the most powerful man in the entire Setulan system, rested his head against the glass windows as silent tears ran down his face. The skies of Shez, ever beautiful and blue, seemed to mock his sorrow. How could one feel sad with such natural beauty around him? It helped not.
Behind him were the rest of the Council of Leaders, the Planetary Presidents of the Setulan system, dressed in their finery for the meeting with the Xiscapians that would take place soon.

The Prime Minister of Limur, Zachary Marchamp. He had been with Maxellian from the start, all through the dark days of the Great War and the Reconstruction. The years showed on him; his was easily the most difficult task of all of the Planetary Presidents, making the dead industry of Limur grow again. He was no longer the young man who had led armies against the Traitor on Bartason...but some of his vitality lived on, and showed through regardless.

The Governor of Shez, Steven Delanphy. The commander of the Republican troops on Exoman, it was he who masterminded the strategy that crushed the Emperor out of the hives. Slim and trite, it appeared that he would blow away at the slightest puff of wind. That is, until he began to speak. His words had swayed more than one Imperial commander to join the Republic....or forced them to surrender.

The Chief Executive of Veto, Jonathan Tempes. The one time Admiral who had led the Republican Fleets so succesfully had retired after the war to become an excellent diplomat and skilled compromiser, getting the many different views during the Great Founding to concile and create the constitution of Setulan.

"Rus..." said Marchamp hesitantly, "You know that these things happen. You no more killed these men then I did."
"More than fifty thousand, dead. Dead to invading scum." Tempes answered that one.
"So what now, Rus? Do we take the war to them and kill them all? I assure you," he added, anger in his eyes, "that is the option I wish to take." Delanphy shook his head.
"No. We shouldn't look for a fight, friends. Unless you want more men to die." Maxellian turned around angrily.
"What, then? Let them go unpunished?" Delanphy arched an eyebrow.
"You know me better than that. I say we issue a standing kill order. We don't look for them...but if they appear, we blow them away, no questions asked. And any who trade with them." The others nodded, Tempes grudingly.
"Fine for me. We will wait for the report from our troops, and then see what happens."
"And the other troops, as well. The...Xiscapians, isn't it?" asked Marchamp.
"Yes," replied Delanphy. "Lux gave them the coordinates to the planet. He sent a message to expect heavily damaged vessels, and as such the shipyards on Veto are waiting to recieve them."
"Good." Maxellian composed himself. His old friends beamed at him.
"Come, Maxellian. We may have lost friends...but we have also gained new ones."

***

Eight of the eleven Task Forces still in Setulan (minus TF Nemesis) were out in force around the Setulan system, waiting for the arrival of the Xiscapian fleet. Sensors were at max power, just waiting for them to enter the system...and to greet them as heroes.

Rear Admiral Lintel watched the streams of starlight flash past in the strange dimension of hyperspace, standing on the bridge of the XIW Gem, a Medical vessel. Somewhere, behind or in front, above or below (who could tell, here?) she knew there to be the XIW Inescapable, a Destroyer, XIW Xeno, a Carrier, XIW Hawk, Water, Red Dawn and Fire, Cruisers, towing the XIW Laughing Man, a Battleship.
Her Battleship.
The battle against the Kewen and Kostemetsians had cost the Xiscapians dearly, in their eyes. Nearly two thousand casualties had been inflicted, most of them fatalities, and they had lost a Destroyer, the Starfire, and the Laughing Man had nearly been destroyed. However, Lintel knew, this was nothing compared to what the Kewen, or indeed the Setulan, had lost.

A system on the bridge beeped and under the watchful eyes of a Bridge Officer the Second Exploratory Fleet dropped out of hyperspace. All around the bridge kitsune shouted orders into vox transmitters or used hand signals to communicate with other bridge crew. Almost instantly eight vessels were scanned, and marked as friendly. The Inescapable was at the lead, with the Gem following up behind, followed by the Carrier and bringing up the rear were the four Cruisers towing the Battleship. As it was, the fleet was battered and weak, the soldiers tired and many wounded, the crews winding down from the rush of battle and only now beginning to realize and mourn the loss of their friends and comrades.

Hardly the heroes the Setulan might have been expecting.
Lintel looked to the Communications Officer, red fox tail curling around her legs, ears perking slightly as she shifted to place less weight on her fractured arm in a sling. “Send them this…”

Greetings Setulan comrades. I am Rear Admiral Lintel of the Second Exploratory Fleet of the Kitsune Empire of Xiscapia. I would induct the usual pleasantries but alas there is no time, as many soldiers and crew, both Setulan and Xiscapian, have been wounded in the fighting. We have done our best in the medical bays, but many need to be stabilized at a fully equipped ground-based or station hospital. If we can send them to you via drop ship, or a transport could be arranged, we would be most grateful. Additionally many of our vessels are in need of repair, so a docking station or starbase would be wonderful.

Xeno Medical Bay…
“How is he doing?”
The medic turned at the question to regard the short blonde, tawny furred Xiscapian female standing behind him, wearing a somewhat soiled uniform that marked her with the rank of Colonel. He abruptly realized that she was the commander of the kitsune ground forces, and bowing, he spoke respectfully.
“The patient is suffering from fatigue, stress, an overdose of what appears to be painkillers, and superficial but nevertheless painful cuts and burns. We have just finished operating to remove a piece of shrapnel from his skull, and he may not wake up for a full twenty four hours, and there is no telling what kind of condition he will be in mentally when he becomes conscious.”

Dui sighed and nodded, staring at the privacy curtain that encircled the bed where her Setulan counterpart, Colonel Green, lay. The story was much the same elsewhere, both for kitsune and humans, and though the screams and cries had quieted in the recent hours an occasional moan or muffled curse still sounded from those lying in the beds. For the umpteenth time Dui felt a deep admiration for the military medical forces of the Motherland, she knew if it were not for them thousands would never have returned home from any of the conflicts Xiscapia had been involved in. It was fine, not necessarily easy, but less stressful to her to be a Colonel in the Xiscapian Grand Army. There all you had to do was get your troops to shoot the other bastard and not die. But as far as medics, nurses and doctors were concerned, they were fighting to save lives against an enemy that couldn’t be killed with guns or bombs, but instead with drugs and surgeries, which could be infinity more dangerous.

The battle had come so abruptly, with very little warning and almost no idea of what to expect from the enemy. The Kewen had not proved to be especially intelligent or tough fighters, but what they did have was a whole lot of bravery and undying persistence in attempting to achieve their goal. Time and time again they had thrown themselves against the base defenses, making it to the first defensive line but, as Dui had been proud to see, no further. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that her Marines and the Setulan Guardsmen could have taken the surviving Kewen on, and won. But she was glad she had been able to call in air support to annihilate them, if she hadn’t she suspected the destroyer that had obliterated half the planet would have killed them all.

The Setulan had proved themselves on the battlefield, though from what she had heard the space campaign hadn’t gone so well. The Colonel had tackled her to the ground as the destroyer impacted, and she wondered if she would have died if he hadn’t done so. The Guardsmen had done as well, if not better, as any of her Marines, and Dui thought these people would be powerful allies. But who were they, really? One could tell much about a people though the way they conducted war, but it did not tell all. Where did they come from, who did they worship, what were their views on aliens, halfbreeds, A.I., what kind of government do they have, what is their history?
The answers would come to her in time as her superior went to conduct that artful game of diplomacy.

The Xiscapian ships were identified, and a reply (sent by Captain Lo of the Illuminator) sent back.

Welcome to the Republic of Setulan. All of your ships are to proceed to the following coordinates. Ground crews are standing by to take wounded, and we are ready to take in any damaged ships you might have to atmosphere dry docks. You're safe, friends. Illuminator, out.

"For all thats holy..." muttered one of the bridge officers. Lo could only nod.
The pict feeds of the Xiscapian vessels had just started playing. Serious damage was evident on many of the ships, and the four cruisers towing the hulk of a battleship...
"They were in a scrap, all right," agreed the XO. Lo bowed his head.
"At least they got out. Reports on battles in space are less then promising. We were mauled."
"What do you think the Council will decree?" Lo only shook his head.
"I can only hope that it involves the Poison Rain."

On Shez

A courier entered the room that the Leaders were in.
"Sirs," he said excitedly, "The Xiscapians have arrived." Maxellian grinned.
"Excellent. Once their commanding officers have a chance to recuperate somewhat, get them a shuttle ride here. I would like to meet with them as soon as possible."

On Veto

Veto was a strange place. The first moon ever reached by the Setulanite settlers, it was barren of life and devoid of anything but rocks and valleys when the first explorers got there. Despite this, the people of Setulan-actually religous exiles-colonized anyway, forming the first of what would be five of the Dome Cities on the surface.
Each Dome City is a massive, hyper-dense glass dome hundreds of miles in diameter which has been extensively terraformed. With the notable exception of Fort Histok, the training base for the Republican Guard, the moon is devoid of life. From above, it appears that the moon has several massive green boils.
But it is in orbit that the moon draws its true contribution to Setulanite society. It is on Veto that the Navy has staked its claim. Shipyards. Docks. The Naval Academy of Setulan. But to the Xiscapian ships, what filled their sensors and sights were the massive floating docks, each capable of holding an entire Task Force.

Messages were sent out to each Xiscapian ship seperately with docking instructions. Salvage barges moved out of their berths to relieve the Xiscapians of their mangled battleship and move it to Repair Dock One, where forty thousand expert shipmasters were ready to move in and start immediate repairs.
In the other docking bays, similar numbers of repair troops were standing ready to help in any way they could. The entire Maintenence Corp of the Setulanite Navy had been mobilized to get the Xiscapian ships back to battleworthy status.

Before they would have a chance, however, the Medical Corp would be waiting.
Hospital beds were open and doctors, surgeons, and medics of every branch of the Setulan military-Navy, Planetary, and Republican-was standing by to help with the casualties in any way they could. Several thousand Planetary Guardsmen had been mobilized and brought up to the station with the mission of rushing into the ships, puting the wounded on stretchers, and hauling ass to the medical bays before going back for more. They waited impassively for the ships to dock.

Xeno Medical Bay

Colonel Green opened his eyes and was blinded by the glaring overhead lights.
"Bloody hell," he said...or at least, he tried to. It came out more like a strangled rasp. Gods, he needed a drink. After he found out where the fuck he was, of course.

The eight-ship Fleet moved in on the stations, docking separately as arranged, the Laughing Man was maneuvered into a separate berth. It was the most serious vessel casualty, as the Medical Ship was entirely unharmed, the Cruisers bore little to no battle damage, and that on the Carrier Xeno and Destroyer Inescapable was light to moderate. Of all the ships, only the Xeno and the Gem bore Setulan wounded, the Xeno because it had been closest to the planet at the time the evacuation was called for, the the Gem because it was a Hospital Ship. The Gem was left alone, it had full facilities for the wounded, but the Xeno did not, her medical bays quickly becoming swamped with injured beings.

As the ship docked the main loading bay and hanger doors on the Xeno opened and row after row of rolling gurneys were marched out, either by grim doctors or faceless Marines in battle armor. All but the most serious and critical would be offloaded, including Xiscapian casualties: The medical facilities on the station were closer than the Gem, and those that could not be moved would have doctors and equipment come to them. Doctors, nurses and medics went along with their wounded, to explain the conditions to the Setulan caretakers and to assist in any way they could. The wounds ranged from minor cuts and bruises to broken bones and amputated limbs, either blown off or mangled so badly that the medics were forced to amputate them for fear of infection. Xiscapian technology would give those who lost hands, arms, legs, feet, eyes, ears or tails a choice: To have a new limb grown in a cloning vat (they would need to be provided with DNA from the original limb, however) or to undergo surgery for a cybernetic, enhanced robotic one.

Even as all this was happening technicians, engineers, spacers (like sailors, specialize in hardware repair and maintenance) and a few officers made their way to the shattered bulk of metal that was the Laughing Man. No matter how good the Setulan repair crews were, they would need direction and guidance from those who knew the vessel like the back of their hands to be able to restore the ship to fully capacity. The remaining healthy crews on the ships who were not needed for either repair or medical assistance were ordered to stay aboard their ships until further notice. No point in letting them free and possibly angering or agitating their new found friends as the kitsune roamed the station. Thus the majority of the kitsune the Setulan would see would be medics or technicians and engineers.

Xeno Medical Bay...
At the unintelligible verbal utterances of Green the doctor turned and peeled back the privacy curtain partway. Green would hear shouting and orders being passed on, both in Galactic Common and the strange Xiscapian native tounge:
Bạn ở đó! Đưa những bệnh nhân này xuống tới vịnh móc chính, nhanh! Chúng tôi không Có thời gian tới đồ phụ tùng, một số họ đang vừa đủ tiếp tục treo. ý định nào bọn họ những sự liên kết nghĩ của chúng ta nếu chúng tôi đã Di chuyển quá chậm chạp và gây ra nhiều nỗi đau hơn và sự chết? Sự Chuyển động, bạn Lời xin lỗi fleabitten Cho Một kitsune, Hay Tôi sẽ có lông thú (của) các bạn (cho) earmuffs!*

"Ah, our honored guest is awake," he murmured, coming forward with a glass of water and a pain pill. Before Green could do anything to protest he tipped the humans head back, popped the pill down his throat, poured a bit of the water into it, and forced him to swallow. "We must move, now. All casualties are to be transferred to the station we have docked at, save for those who are not in any condition to be moved." he said quietly, and an orderly began to push Green out of the room and down the hall, doctor trailing behind as he collected his bag and notes, Dui swiftly keeping pace beside them. "How do you feel?" she asked him. "You're aboard the XIW Xeno, being transferred to one of your stations."

Gem docking berth...
As some medical personnel left to help the Setulan with their anatomy and give medical advise, Lintel and her Executive Officer also exited the ship, flanked by two Marine guards. She had had plenty of time to rest during the trip, and now that she had bathed, changed clothes and slept, she felt much better. Her black uniform was crisp and spotless, boots shining as they reflected the light from the bay, Rear Admiral's bars evident on her chest and cap perched evenly atop her red-gold haired head, orange fox ears poking out the top. Her arm was still in the sling, but she considered it only a minor inconvenience, not serious enough to be operated on or helped in any way but natural healing. Her task was to, after making sure that the wounded were being treated and repairs were underway to the Laughing Man, see where she could meet with a representative from Setulan.
They would have much to speak about.
OOC:
*You there! Get these patients down to the main hanger bay, quickly! We have no time to spare, some of them are barely hanging on. What will our allies think of us if we moved too slowly and caused more suffering and death? Move, you fleabitten excuse for a kitsune, or I will have your fur for earmuffs!

The Navy mechanics were grateful for any help they could get on the alien vessel, and immediately began to confer with their Xiscapian counterparts. Introductions were exchanged, the Setulanites bemused (but not put off) by the appearance of the Kitsune. They started to get a list of requirements, and began to work.

Xeno Docking Berth

The moment the hatches opened and the wounded came forward, skilled combat medics and troops rushed forward, directing the Xiscapian doctors to the medical bays and moving quickly down the gantry. Some of the bad cases were hefted onto stretchers and carried at a run to immediate surgery, medics running at the side of the stretcher holding up an IV.
Cries of "Move! Move!" and "Clear the way!" echoed around the massive docks, and a wonderful tradition of militaries all over the galaxy began. A scene of total chaos where things were nevertheless done at an inhumanly efficient pace.

Green gave a lopsided smile to his counterpart.
"Like a truck hit me. But I'll live." He let loose a shuddering breath as the painkiller kicked in.
Veto, I'm on Veto...what the hell?
"What happened to the Colony? What happened to...my men?" He could hear the echoing cries around the bay. "All I remember is that damned ship crashing."


Medical Bays
The doctors in the bays set to work with a will, ably assisted by their Xiscapian comrades. The Number One priority in the Setulanite military has always been medical care, and to reflect this, a tremendous amount of research and practice had been poured into the subject of field care. Statistics showed that if a soldier injured at the front could get to a fully equipped field hospital, their life would be saved 99.99% of the time. It was a telling statistic.
Many of the surgeons were hesitant to operate on several of the bad Kitsune cases; they were unsure as to what biology might be different than in humans. With absolutely no shame, they asked the Kitsune for help. Saving lives was far more important than pride.

Gem Docking Berth

As Admiral Lintel stepped off the gantry, she was identified as the senior Xiscapian officer by her bearing and rank insignia. The moment she got onto the base proper, she was greeted by two formations of fifty men each (ranked five back, ten across) in ceremonial armor and bearing arms. A whistle sounded, and the troops snapped to attention and performed the rifle salute.
"Attention on deck!" The call rang out from the center of the formation, and a Major General approached Admiral Lintel and saluted.
"Admiral, welcome to the Setulan System. If you will follow me, a shuttle is waiting to take you to Shez. The Council of Leaders awaits."

Xeno docking berth...
Very quickly the wounded were dispersed out to the medical bays, and even as they were more were brought out, a stream of men and kitsune lying on beds in almost every state of being possible, coming by the hundreds. It had been estimated there was about six hundred casualties, give or take a few dozen, and the Xiscapians knew it would take several trips to get everyone out. For the most severe cases Setulan doctors were brought in the help the overloaded kitsune medics, but most were outgoing onto the station.

Dui smiled. "Don't worry, if they were still alive, your men were evacuated when the destroyer hit. Unfortunately the colony was completely destroyed, the crash split the planet in half, but we managed to get all the bastards," the last word was nearly a snarl, referring to the Kewen.

Medical Bays...
With no kind of arrogance and all patience, the kitsune caretakers answered the questions and, for the most part, operated on their own cases themselves, but with huge amounts of assistance from the Setulan. At a fundamental level the kitsune and humans were nearly identical, but with an unfamiliar life form all it would take was a singe incision in the wrong place to bring on catastrophic failure. More and more wounded came, and the Bays began to slowly fill up.

Gem docking berth...
Lintel gave a slight bow. "Thank you," she murmured, following the man with her X.O. in tow. The Setulan had repeatedly made one mistake though, and she felt it needed to be corrected before their highest military and governmental officials began to make it too. "But, Major General, it is "Rear Admiral", thank you, I have yet to attain the rank of Vice Admiral or Admiral. It would be horribly arrogant of me to presume this title when I have it not, and I apologize for any misconceptions I may have inadventantly help breed as to my status."

Green let out a sigh of relief and rested his head back against the pillows. Good and bad news...but all things considered, he didn't mind the result.
"I'm glad to hear the scum were killed. Now we just need to get out there and finish the bastards off..."
The bed he was on was wheeled into a medical bay, and a doctor in Republican Guard uniform came over.
"Green, you dumb bastard! I'm glad to see you still in one piece!" He started checking vitals and conferring with the Xiscapian. He turned back.
"Not as bad as last time I worked on you. You'll live." He looked up and saw Colonel Dui.
"Ma'am." He nodded but didn't salute. "About twenty years ago, Green and I were both attached to the expedition to find the Lustre, one of the loyalist ships from the great war that slipped away. We finally did, and Green, then a wet behind the ears Lieutenant, took a burst in the chest. I sewed him up good, but he likes to think that I pulled the stitches too hard on purpose." Green grunted.
"How are my men?" the doctor's face brightened.
"The vast majority will survive. The Xiscapians did an excellent job of keeping them alive, we just need to put on the finishing touches. They have a few practices I've never seen before," he said, nodding to his counterpart and peeling back some of Green's bandages to check on the wounds, "but they are undeniablely effective."
"And Colonel," he added to Dui, "Any chance you captured one of the invader's bodies relatively intact?"

Gem Docking Berth

"Of course, Rear Admiral. My mistake." He gestured towards a diplomatic shuttle.
"If you would, Rear Admiral. It is but a short ride to the other moon."
No more than twenty minutes later, the shuttle was entering orbit over Shez.

Dui shook her head. "No, all the corpses disintegrated pretty fast for some reason, and the rest, well," she gave a feral smile, "what we did to them at the end didn't leave enough to be analyzed." She remembered her manners and gave a walking bow. "Colonel Dui, XGA."
She intended to question Green, or this doctor person, about the history of their nation. Loyalist ship? A civil war of some kind, perhaps?

Shez Orbit...
Rear Admiral Lintel and her Executive Officer looked out of the porthole, seeing the lush surface combining into an eye-watering riot of colors, a little oasis in the depths of space. This, she knew, was their destination, where she would meet the leaders of the people, maybe military commanders, for talks. They would be, as far as she knew, simply that: talks, to find out as much about each other as they could. Lintel herself was eager to meet and greet, she had made several FCs over the years but none had ever been like this.

The doctor grinned back at her, and his expression was just as vicious.
"Good." He listened to her title.
"My aplogies." He pulled back his hospital gown to reveal four gleaming stars on each shoulder.
"General Anderson. I command the station's medical corps," he explained. "And I can relate. I remember during the Great War, when things got really bad during the siege of Agrimonus, when the Loyalists first used the vaporizer rounds in their artillery. Well, you can guess what they did." As he spoke, he was methodically and efficiently dressing Greens wounds. "What they did was take one of main components of the Poison Rain and use it in a gas shell. Corrodes metal, literally eats away flesh. Lucky us, an airstrike took out the compound they were storing them in after about a week. Everything within a mile is still off limits to anybody who wants to live."

Over Shez

The General noticed the Kistune looking down at Shez.
"Aye, it's beautiful. The only planet untouched by the Great War." The shuttle touched down a minute or so later, and the door opened to reveal a guard in heavily gilded and ornate armor.
"Rear Admiral, this way. The Council is inside." He led her to the room the four men were in. They rose as she entered.

It was not a particularly official room. A study, it had walls covered with as many books as could be recovered after the fires that consumed the Archives. A heavy oak table sat in the middle, rectangular in shape, with the four Leaders on the one side in comfortable chairs and two more on the opposte side. A series of windows covered the walls, letting in the sunlight, and a cool breeze blew in from the forests. Maxellian spoke, his voice a pleasing tenor.
"Rear Admiral Lintel, it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Dui seemed surprised by Anderson's rank. A second quick bow followed the first, but she wondered as to this so-called 'Great War'. By this time the doctor had left, assured his patient would be receiving excellent treatment, and it was just the three of them. "What is this 'Poison Rain'? And who were are these Loyalist people?"
Shez...
Lintel gave a deep bow, her X.O. following suit a second later. "Thank you. We are honored to help your people, and for your genorosity in allowing us to dock here and treat our wounded puts us in your debt."

Green closed his eyes and leaned his head back.
"The Poison Rain...let's just say the Empire had no need for nuclear weapons. The Poison Rain was more than enough. A ship or ships would go into orbit above the area and saturate it with biological and chemical weapons. Things that stripped the flesh from your bones or ate away your face, viruses that caused your guts to swell and explode, side effects you can only imagine. Generally, it was used on a selected area. But at the outset of the Great War, an entire moon was gassed to death. Billions died. That was what started it all." He opened his eyes. "Hasn't been used since."
"To answer the second part of your question, the Republic of Setulan is only fifty...sorry, fifty one...years old. About sixty years ago, the Mad Emperor gassed Limur. Started a civil war that lasted nine years between three factions. The Loyalists who supported the Emperor. The Traitor General Mantebo. And the Republicans, led by Maxellian, who your Admiral is probably meeting right now.
"What you have to understand about the Great War is that everything was confused. The Imperial Navy was crushed at the Battle of Mayinga Gulf by Admiral Tempes...another person your Admiral is meeting with, coincidentally...but we didn't get them all. Twenty eight loyalist ships got away. We have hunted down and killed all but six. Among them is the only war criminal we haven't caught, Captain Jonathan Banes of the Burning Hate. We believe he skipped system, but we are still looking." Green's face transformed into something ugly.
"And we'll find him."
Anderson explained for Colonel Dui.
"Banes decided he would get a last attack in and bombarded one of the hives. We estimate he killed close to three hundred million innocents. We could see the flashfires from the other side of the globe. He destroyed the first two ships sent to get him and dissapeared." He gave Green's shoulder a squeeze.
"You'll live. I'll need to take care of others, I'll check up on you later." He nodded to the Colonel and walked off.

Shez

"The honor is ours, friend. If it had not been for your timely intervention, all of our soldiers would have been lost for naught." Maxellian gestured at the men with him.
"We are the Council of Leaders of Setulan. These gentlemen are Jonathan Tempes, Zachary Marchamp, and Steven Delanphy. Please, Rear Admiral. Be seated so we may talk."

Dui listened quietly, shaking her head. "Such a terrible weapon, used against civilians and innocents. Billions of people...it must have been horrible to be living here during that time." More and more questions arose. "Who was the Emperor, and this General Mantebo, and Maxellian? These six ships, surely after fifty-one years they would be outdated and easily found and destroyed? I'd like to know more." She put both hands on the side of the bed, leaning forward slightly, looking down at Green.

Shez...
"Thank you," Lintel took the indicated seat while her Executive Officer remained by the door, his face expressionless. She demurely crossed her legs, curling her tail around the legs of the chair, and settled in. "I understand that this you are the leaders of this nation, Setulan. I'm afraid I am not even close to the status your equivalent counterparts in Xiscapia would have, but I assure you I have been fully trained to handle a diplomatic mission." She shifted slightly, easing her fractured arm into a more comfortable position.

Green smiled.
"A good thing for you military history is a mandatory class in the Fist! The Fist," he explained, "is the main HQ of the Setulanite military, and is home to the Guard Academies."
He snagged a Planetary Guardsmen who had just carried in a stretcher.
"Any more wounded, private?"
"No, sir!"
"Good, then get a chair for the Colonel!" The private looked at the Kitsune with wide eyes, gave a snappy salute, and ran off. Green continued with a slight grin.
"I wouldn't know that much. I was born towards the middle in Agrimonus Alpha, and we avoided the bulk of the fighting. But some of the stories one hears are...less than pleasant. The Emperor was Alfonso the IX. He was young, but deranged. The Empire of Setulan was not a very nice place to live while he was there. Especially for women. While in practice they were just as well treated as men in the home, laws banned them from many posts and the upper echelons of some buisnesses.
"General Mantebo was the Theater-General of Setulan. He used his pull within the military establishment to attempt a massive coup. He wanted to coronate himself Emperor...and he did, after a few years. His drive on Setulan Prime destroyed the city and killed the greatest tactical and strategic mind of the war, Marshal Blane of the Praetorian Guard. Regardless, he executed the Emperor after a three year siege of the the city that turned it into nothing but shapeless rubble, destroying the Archives-which documented the entire history of Setulan-in the process. The war lasted five more years after the Emperor was deposed, all against Mantebo. That was when the greatest atrocities occured. Few speak his name anymore. He is simply The Traitor.
"Regardless. Maxellian is the leader of the Republic. It was he who wrote the book that started much of the unrest that led to the bombing of Limur, called Citizens and Government. He led the revolt himself, often from the front. After the war and the Reconciliation (where we drafted our constitution), he was elected as the Supreme Leader of Setulan. The past fifty years have been dubbed 'The Reconstruction Period.' We have been rebuilding that which was destroyed, but problems persist. We still have hundreds of thousands of refugees in Agrimonus, and the repopulation of the hives has not been going well.
"As for the navy...we have had other things in mind than advancing our warships. Certainly there have been some improvements, but the designs work, and there were more pressing concerns. Besides," he added, "the six who got away were the best. If they don't want to be found, they wont be. We just count on them to screw up, and then we fall on them with the wrath of the gods."
The private arrived with a stiff backed chair.
"Anything else, ma'am?" The private asked, stiffly at attention.

Shez

Maxellian nodded understanding.
"Of course. Then again, the circumstances of the meeting between our peoples was less than usual." Maxellian replied.
"And very fortuitous," added Delanphy. He smiled at Lintel. "We are rather happy to find a friendly race in the stars, Rear Admiral."
He watched her shift her arm.
"Is your arm paining you? We could have on of our doctors examine it if you like."

"A glass of water would be nice," said Dui dryly, easing down into the chair. She turned back to Green. "Maxellian sounds like a great man, I'm sure he has been a incredible leader for your people. Another question," she smiled, "what is a 'hive'?"

Shez...
"No," Lintel lied, she was very obviously in some discomfort, but her denial was threefold: Not to draw away aide from any of her or her allie's men for so minor an injury, not to look weak in front of her hosts, and most of all not to halt the talks any more than nessecary.
"I can handle it," she gave a slight smile. "If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask, for I will be inquiring the same of you in turn."
OOC: TG

"Yes ma'am!" The private ran off and came back a few seconds later with a glass of water. He handed it to her and saluted.
"Will that be all, Colonel, Ma'am?" Green waved his hand.
"Dismissed, private." the nineteen year old private, happily let off the hook, hurried away to a place where he wouldn't be the target of the brass.
"A hive," Green explained, "is a massive city. And I mean truly massive. Each has close on six hundred million people. They are truly the heart of the economy of Setulan. They are the ones who take the goods we create on Bartason and Limur and turn them into finished products, as well as doing all of the mundane things that every society needs to run. Needless to say, that made them prime targets. There used to be eight fully populated hives. Now, there are three. The rest were forced from their homes or killed by Mantebo's men. We are trying to repopulate two of them, but the going is rough." He shrugged. "No matter how hard we try, the fact is that we lost more than a third of our population in the war. There is no way we will be able to repopulate the continent in the near future." He settled back into his bed.
"As for Maxellian...he has the unconditional love of the people. He is a brilliant orater, the kind of man who makes you want to do what he proposes right now, or at the latest once he finishes talking. I had the honor of meeting him once, after I was wounded. He visited the hospital bay where the wounded were being treated. It helps," he added, "that he was also a devilishly cunning general. I am honored to serve him, and by extension the Republic."

Shez

Though it was obvious to the Leaders that she was in considerable pain, they said nothing; they had been around too many wounded soldiers who had fought on regardless to shame her by pushing the point.
"Please, tell us about the Xiscapian Empire. How many planets do you control? What is your government like?" That was Marchamp.

ooc:replied

Dui sipped from the glass as she listened, looking at Green over the rim. She lowered it, licking her chops, and spoke:
"This wound of yours," she said softly, "that was the burst to the chest you sustained, that Anderson referred to? How did you go about getting that?"

Shez...
"How many planets?" Lintel seemed almost surprised by the question, she had to think for a moment. "We control six star systems with a total of eight inhabited planets and twenty four moons. Our population is only several billion, I don't know the exact number, we tend to try and restrain ourselves from marring the beauty of a world that we colonize. But by far the most populated is our core world of Xiscapia, the capitol. It is where our military, politicians and many of our major companies and greatest minds are.

As to government, we classify it as Democratic Imperial. All of our political leaders are elected. Each have a certain term in office, except the Emperor or Empress. Once they are sworn in, they are in office until one of three things happen: They die, they resign volunteerily, or, if they have become corrupt or the people are dissatisfied, they are impeaced and removed from office. Much time, money and consideration goes into choosing the next ruler, who is voted on by everybody who is an Xiscapian citizen. Any Emperor or Empress must be strong in mind, body and spirit to rule over us. In the Palace there is an army of aides and politicians working under the Emperor to keep Xiscapian running. In times of war the Emperor or Empress has a say in the affairs, but the majority of the war is left to the Generals and Admirals. The ruler may, if they chose so, to remove a military commander from their post, but this is only done under extreme cases and requires much consideration by all parties involved. Under the Emperor each system is ruler by system govenors. Under them are the local mayors of the cities or towns.

Our current Emperor is Foxfire Rose, and this is the Year of our Lord Fifteen, or the fifteenth year under his rule. He lives in his Palace on Xiscapia at Rio Casa, the capitol city, with his wife, the Empress Jade Rose. I am sure you will eventually meet both of them, here or there. The Emperor likes to be involved." She gave a small smile, and nodded to her Executive Officer. He stepped forward and placed a holopad on the table, displaying eight worlds, most of them a lush green with blue oceans, and two kitsune were displayed: The Emperor (http://www.flowerstorm.net/disa/Pictures/Kenshin/anti-kenshin.jpg) and Empress (http://www.1999.co.jp/dbimages/user/hobby/itbig/10051368a.jpg).

Green grimaced in rememberance.
"We wanted to take the ship in one piece, but Admiral Horto (the one who commanded the fleet that gassed Limur, coincidentally) was a cunning bastard. So as the Lustre was duking it out with two cruisers and three frigates, my platoon was launched on a boarding torpedo along with three others to assault the engines, secondary control room, sensor bay, and bridge. My platoon was tasked with the engines.
"We made it to the ship intact, but encountered heavy resistance within. A bunch of Praetorians, who had once been the Emperor's personal army, had a covering position which we couldn't get past. We were pinned and under heavy fire, so...I charged them. Broke through the position, killed them all. I was just preparing to go into the engine room itself when one of the Praetorians who had been playing dead got me right in the chest. Don't really remember much after that. Woke up with doc Anderson hunched over me.
"We got the ship, though. The sensor team got blown away by point-defenes weapons before they could even board, but the secondary control room and bridge got trashed. Captured Horto alive, but by that point my men had overloaded the engines. We all got off in time before the ship blew. We put Horto on trial and executed him. We had a list of war criminals that had a hundred names, and he was number 99. Only Banes is left."

Shez

"I see. I look forward to a direct meeting with them. How long has the Empire existed?" Asked Marchamp.
"And where did you learn to fight so well?" added Tempes wryly. "The reports we have heard indicate that your soldiers make excellent warriors."

Dui winced. "It's amazing you got out alive, it sounds like a bitch to try and take a ship. Us, that's for Board Heads, SBAU or Ship Boarding Attack Units, specifically trained and outfitted to take possession of an enemy vessel. What can you tell me about the Praetorians, and the past of this Barnes character?"

Shez...

Lintel smiled, but it was wan, almost sad. "The Kitsune Empire, as we know it, is very old, about two thousand years. Xiscapians are even older, five thousand some estimates say, but we could be younger or far, far more ancient, as a race. Let me tell you a story.

"At one time we, the Xiscapians, were human. At the time of this story we still resided on Old Xiscapia, many thousands of years ago, and the technology we are so proud of today was then only about that of Medieval. This was the time of War between the various kingdoms of Old Xiscapia, and the only unification was under the Council of Elders, who strived for peace between all people. One dark day a scout from the Kingdom of Mysan, whose ruler is a direct ancestor to Empress Jade's, spotted a curious thing.

It was like the moon, but smaller, and had landed in a field not far from his village. But when he looked to the sky, he saw the moon was still there. And this moon seemed too smooth, not like the craggy, pockmarked surface they knew. He went to touch it, but the a mysterious force repelled him, throwing him back into the forest. Terrified, the scout went back and told all of the village, but by the time he had roused up some warriors to investigate, demons came from the moon. They were creatures from the depths of the Forgotten Realms, spitting fire and slaughtering all they came upon.

The village was torched and all those who tried to stop them were killed, and the rest of the village fled to the security of the forest. The demons hunted them, but they kept well hidden and picked off the ones who went alone. Night fell and it turned the demons were not so brave to stay in the same forest at night as those who hunted them. They returned to their moon. The villagers cracked open the outer shell of one of the demons they had killed, and found inside that it was more like a insect than anything else, all soft meat and shriveled parts. They cooked and ate it, and found that it was good.

Still, the Council Of Elders called a meeting with all the chiefs and kings of the various tribes and kingdoms of Old Xiscapia. They prayed to Qonn, who was then and always will be our god. It was agreed that we could not engage the demons in open combat, but when one got close they were easily dispatched. So, using their magic granted by Qonn, in a few short days the Elders had assembled an army from all the countries, and under the cover of darkness, they infiltrated the moon.

Inside were wonders that they had never seen the like, but the warriors had no time to explore. They sought out all the demons and killed every last one while they slept. The moon was large, and before long the halls of the moon were awash with blood. In the end this unified army came out victorious, and all over Old Xiscapia there was much rejoicing. The Council of Elders called another meeting, and Qonn told them the moon and it's demons had come from the stars, and that more would follow. This worried the Elders and all the leaders, and they asked what they should do. Qonn told them to learn the ways of the moon.

So they did. It was recognized that only though unification, combining all the talents and culture of Old Xiscapia, could they hope to maximize their spoils to their full potential. From this moon they made fire weapons of their own, their made shells to protect them, but they never forgot the virtues of being unarmored, or the elegance with which a sword kills that a gun cannot match. With these they made their first starcraft, forging weapons as a united Republic under the Elders and leaders.

From there they were forced to fend off many attacks from demons, and each time they acquired new technology and added it to their existing ships, weapons and equipment. However, it was quickly found that the starcraft they made could not breach high orbit, as doing so would kill the crew instantly, making them planet-bound. So they worked and they tinkered and they changed, but nothing worked.

Qonn said unto them that he would make them different, change them for the better. So all of those on Old Xiscapia became kitsune, and with the change we were able to travel the stars. We had not gone far before we were told we had to leave Old Xiscapia, and even the grandchildren of our grandchildren would not live to see it again. Some kitsune live for over three centuries, so this was a long time. With our technology we built vessels to carry all of our people and technology with us, to find a new home.

Just as the ships were setting out, though, a storm of the stars scattered them like leaves on a wind, and they were spread throughout the galaxy. Three thousand years of searching it took to find Xiscapia, the right one. No other planet would do, although we have information that points that some kitsune landed on other planets. Some were killed by the natives, some established worldwide and even system-wide Empires, some, we believe, still have decedents living on today. Only a few years ago did we rediscover Old Xiscapia, and it was revealed to us that the storm of the stars was actually a massive invasion fleet coming to destroy Old Xiscapia, and their Warp exit into realspace tossed away the kitsune ships entirely be accident. They were men of Chaos, come to make clothing of our hides. We have found that they landed on Old Xiscapia to search for kitsune to kill, and were in turn killed and destroyed by a number of traps they sprung while they searched.

Lintel smiled grimly. "Xiscapia has never started a war, but it does finish them. At roughly the same time as the Xiscapian colonizing of New Xiscapia a fleet of ships crash-landed on the next planet over. Messages to them from the Xiscapians went unanswered, and diplomatic shuttles were turned away by warning shots of plasma from grounded ships. The Korr emerged and spread over the gas-giant sized planet at an alarming rate, multiplying and growing in strength and size. From the very beginning there was tensions between the Korr and the Xiscapians. Slavery, equality, tourture, codes of ettiquite, and pure alieness set the two species apart.

At first, for the first century or so, there was a shaky peace. Then, though an unknown incident, war errupted. From then until the final hours of the last Korr war, time was seperated into months of vicious fighting and years of uneasily peace. The Korr had the advantage of huge troop numbers, plasma technology, and a vast amount of raw resources at their command. The Xiscapians benifited from well trained and equipped troops, energy beam technology, and a wide-spread use of the Force, which was hated by the Korr and rarely found in them. Both sides had an impenetrable blockade of ships set up to halt enemy advances to strike at the home worlds. The only way the two sides were able to continue the war was the frequent lulls and cease-fires which occured, sometimes for several years, other times only for a few days. Almost all the fighting was done in Jomstar space and on Jomstar moons, and virtual no-mans land.

Then catastrophic struck on our side. A disease released by the Korr, called the Swift Death or Hayai Shikyo for the speed in which it killed those it infected, killed many on the Xiscapian side, significantly weakening our defenses. The Korr broke though the lines and a vicious war was fought for the first time in our space for several months. Finally the Korr gained a foothold on the moon of Kel. This was when the Xiscapians called out to the universe in general for help. Varied nations and peoples repsonded, but the most significant and influential were the Alversians. A series of battles was fought and finally Korrilia was taken. The war, which had lasted for as long as anyone could remember, was finally over.

From that long, erroding war and many various conflicts thoughout the galaxy we have gained experience, knowledge and technology to apply to the Art of War."

"The Praetorian Guard. Blood-Brothers of the Empire. Elite, hardened shock troops. The training was secretive, almost legendary. They could resist pain, resist torture. Keep fighting after a wound that would kill a regular man. That one I know from experience," he said dryly. "They were the best of the best. Maxellian was actually a Captain in the Praetorian, but resigned his commission early on in his career. He didn't like the way the Empire was running things. He still has the tattoo. They all got a golden eagle across their backs. Anyway, there were not that many of them, but they made up for their numbers with ferocity. Terrifying enemies to fight. The Republican Guard was actually founded as a direct counter to the Praetorians, so that we could instil the same fear in them as they did in us." A crooked smile accompanied that statement. "Worked pretty well, but we still aren't as good as they were. It's a work in progress. The history of the Great War is replete with tales of the Praetorians fighting to the last man.
"Banes...well, he was one of the best. After the Lustre was taken, we assembled a kill team to find the Burning Hate, and I was on it. We learned all about him." He sighed heavily. "Banes was one of the best. A rising star for sure, he had command of his own ship by the time he was twenty six, only five years out of the academy. Some of his articles on the use of light ships, especially on how to prey on merchant shipping, are still required reading in the Navy Academy. It was widely accepted that he would have a Task Force in twenty years at the most, and be the Lord Admiral Superior, head of the Imperial Navy, not too long after that. During the war, he served with distinction against the Republic up until Mayinga Gulf, where he commanded Magenta Squadron. Killed three ships during that battle, and his squadron got six more, but it was really a hopeless task. He dissapeared, showed up one more time to bombard the hive, and hasn't been seen since.
"As for taking ships, well...it's all in a days work, right?"

Shez

Maxellian shook his head.
"A sad history. But it is always darkest before the dawn. And you were fortunate enough to find good friends at the best possible time." The men had a moment of silence, remembering past wars and past friends. After a brief pause, Marchamp spoke up.
"These Korr...did you exterminate them?"

Dui knew all about elite troops and the like. The Emperor had his Black Guard, the Alversians their Democratic Guard, the Tanaran's their Hands, the Muri the Blue Moon, the N-K the samurai, the Calaverians their Hunters, the Korr their Skewered, and so on and so forth. "Banes sounds like he had a lot of potential, is seems like he could have been an Admiral at least, maybe the head of your Navy, as you said. What made him...go bad? Why did he fight on the wrong side?"

Shez...
Lintel's eyes flickered and the slitted, yellow, animal ones met those of Marchamp. "Almost." She paused. "It would be more accurate to say they nearly exterminated themselves. After the war was won riots and looting began to spread across Korrilia, their home world. We had neither the manpower, will, desire or strength to police the population, so after making sure the threat was gone, we retreated back to Xiscapia to lick our wounds the rebuild after so many decades of fighting. Korrilia plunged into darkness, a lawless time not unlike the Great War you described of your own people. Korr against Korr, every military leader grabbing power for himself, constant fighting, nuclear weapons being deployed right and left. In a little more than a year after we'd left, they had completely annihilated themselves and turned their planet into a noxious, poisonous ruin.

During and after the war, though, many refugees, civilian and military alike, fled to Xiscapia. At first no one wanted them in the Kitsune Empire, but over time they were accepted and today, over a decade later, they have become a part of our society. I'm sure we have at least one Korr somewhere among the fleet, they are renowned for three things: Their strength and endurance, their will and bravery, and they make excellent coffee." She grinned.

Green shrugged.
"No one really knows. It was largely due to religion. At the time, the Emperor was worshipped as a god, and the vast majority of the loyalist troops fought on that premise alone. Banes was never particularly religous, though. He probably did it for honor. The Navy was very aristocratic, and some member of the Banes family had been serving in the Navy for at least three thousand years. Indeed, many of the captains and crews that rebelled were of the 'new blood,' the captains with a more limited family tradition. After the Emperor died, the religious aspect went right out the window, of course. At least on the ground. But in space, the skewered feelings of honor and loyalty remained, and so we didn't win in space until Mayinga Gulf. I can only hope that Banes pays the price for what he did. I remember the trials of some of the more infamous ones, and was even one of the troops assigned to protect Tryst during his trial. He was number ninety seven to go."

Shez

Marchamp nodded in understanding.
"Thankfully, we managed to avoid that...mostly." A pained look crossed his face.
"It is good to hear that despite the horror of your conflict, you have come to accept them for their strengths. And speaking of strengths," continued Delanphy, "what matter of goods do your people specialize in?"

"Were all of these war crimes offenders executed?" asked Dui curiously. Xiscapia had no qualms about exeuction, of course, there were three official ways and many unofficial ways to execute a person, but some, like the Alversians, did not believe in capital punishment even under extreme circumstances. "And who was the first...number one, that is, to be executed?"

Shez...
"Xiscapia mainly exports minerals, gems and precious metals, Cortosis, gold, silver, sapphires, emeralds, energy crystals, that sort of thing. We occasionally sell crafted katana swords, and a lot of Aenibt gas that powers many beam weapons, as well as some medicine, including limited cloning technology. Limited," she nodded, but it was more like she had bowed her head. The Xiscapians had seen what could happen when cloning, fully body cloning, got out of hand...

Green nodded, seemingly surprised at the question.
"Of course. You would too, I'm sure. When you have monsters like those that used to walk this planet...its an institutional hatred that is bred into every Setulanite. Especially those who got away for so long, among them Horto and Banes. Our schools make the students memorize the greatest villains of the war, but in the Fist we learned them all. Number One was Mantebo-his execution was never officially carried out. By that, I mean that he was summarily executed on the field after his capture, and his body was displayed for the world to see. And just to clarify," he added, "Banes is only number 100on the capture list. He was six on the Most Wanted list, and topped it after Horto (origionally number five) was captured. Lord Admiral Superior Mulihan was number two. He was captured at Mayinga Gulf and held for the rest of the war. Theater-General Tryst was third. He started death camps on Exoman (the hive continent) and is responsible for hundreds of millions of deaths. Theater-General Lear. During the siege of Agrimonus Delta, he liked to broadcast civilians being tortured to demoralize the defenders. The list of horrors goes on. Tryst was caught and executed about ten years ago.
"Keep in mind also that the list was created after the war was over. Technically, thirty two of the 100 were confirmed dead before the list was made."

Shez

"Cloning?" asked Maxellian. "We have some-grafting new limbs, for example-but we have never truly dabbled into it. Have your people made gains in that area?"

"Xiscapia is no stranger to war crimes. When we went to war, once...a pilot was captured, by a people known as the Calaverians. They chained her to an operating table and dissected her while she still lived, and she didn't die, as best as we can tell from the records they kept, until after her heart was removed." Dui shuddered. "We captured the doctor and, after a few months of trials, he was executed by beheading. But the one really responsible for it, the Captain of the ship who was present for the dissection named Kash Wilson, we captured him but he escaped. It took two years across half the galaxy, and several times of nearly catching him, before he literally flew into our arms. He landed aboard one of our Space Stations, over Xiscapia, we believe he was intending to bomb it. The resident Commander took great pleasure in executing him personally, via a firing squad. There is a painting depicting it in the Palace on Xiscapia, it is called A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation."

Shez...
"We have sufficent technology and materials to clone whole beings, but we never have. It is against the law, we've only cloned limbs and new organs for wounded or sick people. We've seen what damage and destruction abusing cloning can do." Lintel nodded, remembering, wondering if they would ask about her words. It was a war and continued history of infamy with those people, those cloners...

Green shook his head sadly.
"Aye, there are monsters out there. But that's why we do what we do. And risk getting blown up in the process," he added, looking down at himself with a grimace.
"And being perfectly honest," he said, his voice cold, "I thoroughly enjoyed watching Tryst swing." his voice grew softer again.
"I'm glad to hear you got the bastard, though. I'd like to see that painting some day. Who knows? If our peoples can get a real relationship between them, I might just. I know for damn sure I wouldn't mind having your marines with me in combat. Who knows?" he asked again. "Maybe next time Xiscapia goes to war, Setulan will be right alongside them. I wouldn't mind all that much, but then again you did save my ass." He grinned at Dui. "You'd have to show me around your capitol, though."

Shez

As Lintel knew perfectly well, human curiosity would make her explain her words.
"What happened with large scale cloning that makes your people abhor it so?" asked Tempes. He could smell a war story in her words.

"And you will have to give me the grand tour of yours, if such comes to pass," she smiled down at him. "It was an honor to command troops and fight alongside you and your men. I don't know if you'd really want to fight our enemies, though...there's so many of them, and a few are truly nasty and very dangerous. As a nation, that is, after so much war I wouldn't think you'd want to get into a conflict again so soon." She sighed wistfully, and second, wan smile crossing her visage, ears drooping slightly. "We fight because we have to, because we have no other choice, because there are those out there who would destroy us, not for land or resources or slaves, but merely because of what we are, not like them. The galaxies noblest profession is that of soldiering, and I'm proud to fight the oppressors, tyrants, dictators, murderers and those who follow them."

Shez...
Lintel shook her head. With the Xiscapians, almost everything involved a war story somewhere. "It was...a decade ago, now? Yes, was still in training. Unknown to us, a ship entered our home system, what is called an Observer, from a nation that calls itself the Calaverians, a human race. They are severely xenophobic, so when one of our frigates,” she smiled in memory, “we had frigates back then, and two fighter escort got too close, they disguised themselves with a cloaking device as a Xiscapian ship in trouble. When the ships landed the pilots and crew was take hostage. Eventually we noticed the ships hadn’t reported back, and a second frigate was sent to find out what was happening. Again the ship tried to deceive those aboard the frigate, but they quickly found that the ship was not registered anywhere in the Kitsune Empire. They jumped to the conclusion that this vessel had captured the others, and demanded their release.

The Observer began charging weapons, our frigate was no match and they knew it. But a quick transmission to one of our incoming fleets from a recent battle warned them of this new enemy, and they came out of hyperspace to do battle. One of our cruisers was badly damaged and several kitsune were killed, but we were able to take the vessel. We found that of those that had been imprisoned two had been killed, one had been dissected alive and the other shot. We took what crew lived prisoner and commandeered the ship, it was called the Lenin. We tweaked it a bit, changed some things around, ripped out the holding cells and operating rooms, and renamed her, the Freedom, under Xiscapian command. The Commander of the ship was a man named Kash Wilson, he was taken prisoner but escaped, this will be important later.

We managed to locate a frequency on which we could speak to more of these people, but after a short time they cut off the transmission. Again, unknown to us, three Observers had moved into the system among the moons of one of our gas giants and destroyed a scientific outpost, setting up camp for a base to continue their attacks. One of the Observers attempted to attack Xiscapia, but was badly damaged and quickly repelled. It limbed back to the moon, and one of our Battleships, along with an Alversian Dreadnought, followed it and fought the Observers there. One Observer was destroyed and the other two self-destructed when it was apparent the battle was lost for them, and the troops on the moon, Galactic Observation Units they were called, prepared for battle. However, we threatened to destroy the moon, killing them all, so they surrendered.

Roughly a week later we, us and the Alversians, had assembled an assault fleet, on course for their home planet whose location we had found though examination of the Lenin’s records and interrogation of Calaverian prisoners. The allied task force made it into the system, but there were no Observers anywhere, only orbiting wreckage. The planet a prisoner identified as Celestis, their home world, was deserted but for the bodies and rubble. It seemed the Calaverians had had a civil war before our arrival, and all their ships had left before we arrived.
It wasn’t until later we knew the truth.

We took the prisoners, believing them to be the last of their race, and sent them on their way in ships, to find a new home somewhere else. We don’t know exactly what happened, but years later long-range probes of ours located a structure, it looked like a massive Observer, a star base actually, called HOME. The details and systems appeared to be Calaverian, and there were several Observers and transport vessels building it. We, again accompanied by the Alversians, made an appearance a short time later, demanding the Calaverians cease building and for them to hand over all their weapons of war to us. They were intending to go back to their old ways, to kidnap and slaughter and study alien specimens, and their leader was this Kash Wilson. Though negotiations they gave up their weapons, but in return we agreed to protect them, and grudgingly allowed Wilson to keep his post and not be detained and brought to Xiscapia for trial and execution.

Unfortunately, we failed.
During a separate conflict with an old enemy, a group known as the Society for the Advancement of Social Medicine, or SASM, attacked HOME and its guards. We were unable to repel them, and were destroyed to a ship. HOME itself was assaulted and destroyed by the shock troops of the SASM, called Biodroids. Most of the Calaverians did not survive, but a few, no more than three, Observers were escaped.

For a long time we heard nothing of them, but in the meantime their old home world, which had long since been abandoned by our forces, was being converted into a colony by another enemy of ours, the AIW, or Alliance of Imitated Worlds. They were the ones who had forced the Calaverians off Celestis before we attacked, but had been badly weakened by the fighting and fled once they detected our arrival. We managed to destroy the AIW presence there, and were on the verge of claiming Celestis for ourselves when an Observer showed up, asking for their home world back. We suspect they did not have the men or firepower to take Celestis for themselves, so they waited until someone came to wipe out the AIW. In any case, negotiations determined that they would give up their other world, Calavertis, in exchange for Celestis. Among provisions were the removal of all operation chambers and cells aboard all existing Observers and the omission of them from future ones, a pact of non-aggression between them and the Kitsune Empire and the placement of a number, twelve, Xiscapian Overseers on Observers and on Celestis. Here’s where the cloning comes in. After all this, a people who once numbered in the billions was now only maybe ten thousand, mostly male and in no position to rebuild without assistance. So one of the first things they did was to begin cloning workers and soldiers with the DNA of Kash Wilson, and over time a great city sprung up and they began to manufacture ships, weapons, vehicles, food and other things. But it was at a great cost: Though the normal population had grown to far larger than its size of ten thousand, seventy percent of the total population was clones of Kash Wilson. All the soldiers, almost the entire military, and nearly three-fourths of the population is all the same man.
It is an abomination, especially when you consider the man was a complete bastard. Even their leader, who is called Great Leader, a ruthless dictator, is a slightly altered clone of this person.”
Lintel looked visibly sick at her own words.

OOC: TG

ooc:didn't get the TG...resend it, and I'll edit this into a response

Green nodded in agreement.
"I don't know, Colonel. Fighting some of your enemies might be a nice change. It's really the least we can do, considering you helped us fight ours. Suffice it to say that if Maxellian asked me what I thought, I'd tell him to unequivocally open relations with your people."
He then leaned over the bed to the one side, grumbled to himself, leaned to the other, and found what he was looking for. Pushing down a lever, the bed rose to put him in a sitting position.
"I wasn't so badly hurt that I can't sit up. At least I'll have a nice new scar to impress the ladies with." the inane comment reminded him who he was talking to, and he gave a start.
"Bloody hell. No offense, Colonel. I'm high on pain pills and my courtesy has become rusty from being stuck with a bunch of rowdy soldiers for the past several months."

Shez

Silence met the story.
"That is...an abomonation." Said Tempes at length. The other Leaders nodded in agreement.
"Revolting indeed," agreed Maxellian, "and all the more reason to find friends in the universe. Rear Admiral," he said formaly, "would Xiscapia be interested in an aliance of some sort with the Republic? I know that you do not have binding authority, but I would like to know your gut feeling as to what your leaders would say."

"My gut feeling tells me our leaders would be delighted to make a new ally." Lintel smiled. "I can have a formal accord sent to us from the Motherland-"
She abruptly grimaced in pain, and for the first time the men seated around the table would notice a light sheen of sweat across her forehead. Panting, hands gripping the arms of her chair, she tried to forge on. "Emperor...would, be..." Her teeth ground together, stomach expanding and contracting with effort, before with a blink of surprise and a small sigh she crumpled off the chair and onto the floor. Her Executive Officer, who seemed unaffected, lunged forward. "Rear Admiral!"

Medical Bay...
Dui laughed out loud. "No offense taken, Green. I full well know the feeling, the stories I could tell you of when I was made to attend formal parties and balls back home when I flustered and shocked the guests with my uncouth jokes and generally refused to act like a proper lady." She grinned, remembering. "There was this one time, on Slint-"

Her words were cut off by a scream echoing across the bay. One of the Xiscapians, a gray-uniformed bridge officer, had fallen to his knees, clutching the sides of his head, crying out again before keeling over on his side to the deck, out cold. For a moment there was dumbfounded silence before the shriek began anew, but now from seemingly everywhere across the Bay, kitsune writhing on the floor or in their beds with apparently agonizing affliction, a screech emitting from their mouths not unlike the warning moan of a cat. It was difficult to tell, but roughly half the Xiscapians were fine, either standing or sitting, rooted to the spot by the sudden violence, or rushing to the aide of their comrades. The anguish didn't look like it was centered or in a pattern, everyone, from Bridge Officers down to spacers, was affected, and in some cases whole groups were paralyzed by their suffering before fainting while other teams didn't even show a twitch of discomfort.

The same happened everywhere: At the wreck of the Laughing Man and aboard the ships. Fortunately, by this time, no one was flying any craft or operating dangerous equipment, but whole sections of vessels were empty but for the unconscious forms of kitsune lying sprawled where they had fallen, still breathing but racked by some unknown torment. Little did the Setulan know that this was not isolated: Far, far away, all across the Kitsune Empire of Xiscapia, the same was being experienced by many millions of Xiscapians.
A time of change, indeed.

Veto

Green looked around in horror.
"What the hell..." He watched as the Kitsune dropped and Setulanite doctors, just winding down from the marathon efforts to stabalize several patients, kicked back into action in a flash, calling for aid from the Planetary Guardsmen around the bay to help lift the Kitsune into beds. They began feversish checks, but could not explain what was happening.
On the ships where Setulanite crews were aiding the Kitsune with the repairs, much the same story was repeated. The dock crews hefted the Kitsune between them and ran for the medical bays, calling for stretcher crews that had just had time to rest a bit.
Setulanites, fearing the worst, boarded the Xiscapian ships and saw the sprawled figures. They called for help.
General Anderson turned as a harried looking captain ran up.
"Sir, we don't have enough room here for all the cases. We need to take them down to the glass cities."
Anderson sighed in frustration.
"Fine. Get permission from the highest ranking Xiscapian you can find to send their troops to the surface. And have hospitals down their clear up and brace themselves!"

Shez

The Council all rose to their feet, alarm on their faces, and Tempes slammed his hand down on a panic button.
Immediately, two side doors and the main door burst inward and armed and armored Republican Guardsmen ran in, expecting a threat to the life of the Leaders. Instead, they saw the Kitsune XO hunched over the sprawled body of the Admiral.
"Captain, get a medic in hear ASAP!" Roared Maxellian. One of the Guardsmen spoke quickly on his radio.
"Sir, they are on the way." The surgeon ran in a moment later, took one look at the collapsed Kitsune, and pointed at two guardsmen.
"Carry her to the sick bay, we'll stabalize her and see if we can find whats wrong. You can stay with her," he said to the XO. The Guardsmen hurried out, Lintel stretched between them.

Minutes later, the doctors had an IV set up and were trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

OOC: assuming Dui didn't succumb to the change?

OOC: Correct.
IC:
In their mindless confusion and pain some of the kitsune attacked their rescuers, but these were halfhearted and they could quickly be restrained into submission. Those still standing were doing all they could to help, but it was really all in the hands of the Setulan. Those medical personnel who had not succumbed were bewildered, and many suspected some kind of biological or possibly chemical agent had somehow been introduced to the Xiscapians before they left the battle planet. But they had no way of knowing until they could test one of the victims, so they assisted the Setulan and followed their orders as best they could.

The Executive Officer was, at the moment, the highest ranking Xiscapian present who had not collapsed, and he gave full permission to the Setulan for Xiscapian crew to be transported for stabilization and diagnosis. Those Marines who were not nursing battle wounds or similarly incapacitated by the affliction went with them, more for show than to protect the patients in any way. Dui, as the commander of the Marine forces of the fleet, was forced to abandon Green with strict orders to a soldier that he continued to receive care, and went with her remaining troops. In no time the ships had been cleared and put under A.I. security and control, at this point most of the crew for any of the given vessels were either wounded or unconscious, the Marines were escorting the patients and the doctors and medics were treating the victims, so that left some odd five hundred regular crewers in a huddle, scared, worried and confused, in the middle of the station.

By this time the patients had passed out completely, and were exhibiting no higher brain function. Heartbeat, which had spiked upon collapse, had returned to normal, and after about ten minutes the body relaxed into what was effectively a coma. There was no telling how long it would last, or if the kitsune were doomed to sleep forever suspended between life and death.

Hospitals on Veto were opened up, and the Kitsune were all placed into beds where bewildered doctors did what they could. Within minutes, all of the Xiscapians who had collapsed were being attended by a doctor of some sort. Anderson walked up to Dui, shaking his head.
"Colonel, I don't know what to tell you. We have them all stabalized, and we're doing what we can for them, but we just have no idea what the hell is going on." He started walking, waving her to follow. "What it looks like right now is a mass coma breakout. We've run blood chemistry tests on several of your troops, and they tested negative on any chemical agents known to Setulan-and trust me, we know lots. Your own doctors confirm our diagnoses, which is to say they have as little idea of what the hell is going on as the rest of us. Blood chemistry is as perfect as it can be." He sighed heavily. "Gods, I wish I hadn't quit smoking." he shook his head.
"We have tried many of the methods we have for getting people out of comas, but...I don't really know a way to put this. Usually, there is some brain function, at least a little, but on your troops there is...none. Absolutely zero brain function. They are all alive, but that is all we can really say at this point. We'll keep them comfortable, but..." He shrugged helplessly. "We are literally powerless to do anything else." It was an angry admission, though Dui could easily tell that Anderson's frustration was not directing towards her. It was the frustration medical proffessionals always feel when their craft can not save a life.

Green sat in bed with increasing frustration as the furor rose up around him and then dropped. He wanted to get out of the damn bed! His cut was sewn up and he had dressings on his burns. The only thing keeping him in the damn bed was the detox machine that was removing the painkillers from his system.
Fortunately for him, nobody was paying attention to the Colonel in the rush to help the Kitsune. He disconnected the detox machine, pulling the needle out of his arm, and got out of bed.
He was an impressive sight to anybody looking. Stripped to his waist, his torso was bare, revealing an almost sculpted figure-massive pectorals, biceps, triceps, deltoids, and a chisseled abdomen. He was 6'8", 350 lbs of muscle...and he would be damned if he would be kept in bed. Dog tags hanging down and bullet wounds clearly etched across his chest, he rambled off to find Dui.

Several hours later...
Dui sighed and shook her head. "There must be a reason, one of those Kewen bastards, or maybe those prisoners we took, they must have been carrying some kind of disease or something. There's no other explination!" She stopped and turned to stare Anderson in the eye. "If this keeps up it will be a long, long time before we're able to go back to the Motherland, and for all we know, all these," she spread a hand to indicate the slumbering kitsune, "are as good as dead. We have to find a way to get them out, these people don't deserve to die, and they sure as hell don't deserve to be turned into vegitable!" Dui, too, was clearly angry and distressed, perhaps even more so than the doctor himself. It wasn't fair: She had guided these Xiscapians though all the horrors and strain of combat, only to now have half of them become inexplicably incapacitated. But underneth there was an undercurrent of fear: Just because whatever had struck the others had abated didn't mean it couldn't come back and hit Dui too, rendering her asleep for the rest of her natural life.

As Green stood one of the kitsune doctors, who had nothing else to do now that the patients were stable and comfortable, hurried over to him. "Sir, sir," he was a short little man when compared to the hulking marine, five feet and six inches, probably under a hundred and fifty pounds, pale from years under artificial lighting and wearing horn-rim glasses, medical coat flapping slightly. "Colonel," he corrected himself as he stood in Green's way, "you can't leave yet, we have to make sure there is no infection, you haven't been registered for discharge."

Anderson took a deep breath.
"Look, if it is biological, it's not something we've ever seen. It would be defying the laws of nature! The Kewen might be abominations, but they can't defy physics and chemistry. There is no pattern. It wasn't even guards who fell sick, and those spacers never even saw the Kewen or the prisoners. Hell, your leader, Lintel was afflicted by whatever the hell it might be that layed all these others low...but her XO, six feet behind her, was pefectly fine. Be logical, Colonel. I know how you feel," he said softly, "And you'll get home. I promise you that." He looked behind her.
"Wait...did you leave Green by himself?" when she nodded, he rolled his eyes.
"Oh, gods..."

Green looked down at the Kitsune doctor in amusement.
"No kidding?" He looked at his arm, covered in bandages.
"My tox screen was clear...minus the overdose of painkillers, of course...but they juiced me off of that. My cheek is sewn up. As a matter of fact, I feel marvelous! Why should I stay in bed when there are fine women around?" He winked at the doctor, who looked like he hadn't gotten any action in his entire life.
"And speaking of fine women, where is Colonel Dui?" he couldn't see her in the furor around him.

ooc: technicaly not a marine. ;)

"You go fight the Kewen, you tell me they can't defy every law in the damn book. But that's not important, I know what you're saying. But Green...what about him?" She raised her eyebrows. "I assume he gets, ah, restless?"
Dui could understand the agony of being trapped in a hospital room, especially when there was no one to talk to. She would peg Green as that type of guy...

The doctor was thrown temporarily off balance. "I, I haven't seen the Colonel, Colonel. She might be in one of the other sick bays." He looked suspiciously at Green. "Why do you want to know, anyway?"
OOC: TG

Anderson just shook his head.
"You know, I brought him back from the Luster with three holes in his chest, and the next night was probably a lot of fun. He didn't touch a drop, but I don't remember much after he bought me that third drink..." he looked over and saw Green towering over the little doctor.
"Oh, gods. Come with me, Colonel." They walked over in time to hear the Colonel's response.
"No particular reason. Ah, there she is now." He waved at her cheerily and brushed past the bewildered doctor. Anderson gave him a wry look.
"You know what? I'm not surprised." He shook his head. "All the troops who just got back have leave, and you will take it." Green nodded.
"Where to?"
"Setulan. We don't want to unleash you savages on Shez or Limur." Anderson looked at Dui.
"Your troops have also been granted leave, Colonel, if they'll take it. I advise you do-Setulan is a fun planet to be on. And your troops wont have to pay for a single drink...the battle at Colony 1 has been all over the news. Green can show you the sights." With a final shake of the head, he walked away.
Green looked at Dui.
"He's right, it is fun. I can show you around if you like."

The next day...

The shuttle holding two hundred rowdy Republican Guardsmen and almost an equal number of Xiscapian marines landed at Setulan Prime, capitol of the Republic. Green stepped out first, along with Dui. He looked impeccable in his dress uniform, rows of ribbons for valor in action on his chest. He glanced at Dui and shot her a grin.
"Shall we?"

In a bed on Shez, Lintel...stirred.

Some of the Marines felt bad about leaving their comrades, straddling the line between light and dark as it were. But they could no more do anything about it than the doctors, so they were determined to forget, for at least a time, the battle and their dead, wounded or comatose friends and fellows, to go to a party, buy a drink or five, and see if they could get a girl between the sheets. Of course, there were female marines, but not many were even in the Corps to begin with, even less were stationed in the Second Exploratory Fleet, and between the battle and the comas, the only female kitsune going down turned out to be Dui. She smiled back at Green, dressed in standard military fatigues, was no less spectacularly adorned, among her Campaign medals and Colonel's bars were three awards of particular prestige: The white Yin-Yang medal, awarded for rescuing a comrade or civilian under fire, multiple deep blue ribbons called the Kommander Ribbon, awarded for excellent leadership in time of crisis, and the Distinguished Marksmen Ribbon, a small red patch with a tiny black crosshairs, awarded for outstanding marksmanship in time of battle.
"We shall, let us see what your home planet has to offer."

Hospital...
Lintel moved as if to roll over on her side, then convulsed suddenly, twisting, her face a grimace of silent agony, bucking in the bed. Doctors and nurses began to rush towards her, but even before they arrived they would hear her heart rate begin to go up rapidly before abruptly flat lining with the telltale drawn-out beep, but she still moved. In truth, Rear Admiral Lintel's body was changing, to the point that the heart rate monitor was no longer equipped properly to give readings. Before the eyes of her caretakers and the conscious, merely wounded patients, she began to transform.

It happened so fast, everything melding together in a confusing hurry, so that no one was really quite sure how the thing had happened, only that it did. They could see her nose lengthen a bit, but nevertheless grotesquely, and simultaneously widen and begin to change color, her legs came up, shaking, as flesh receded from some areas and grew where there was none before. Bones moved like worms under dirt into new positions, protruded or shrank away entirely, but throughout she did not wake. The entire effect was overlaid by a rush of orange, like that of rust, spreading and making things unrecognizable, sprouting all over the young kitsune. When it was finally all over, her eyes opened.

For a moment she just lay there, breathing though changed vocal cords and an unfamiliar muzzle, surely immensely confused and probably afraid. What lay before them was humanoid only in the most fundamental of ways: Two arms, two legs, bipedal-looking, opposable thumbs, and the eyes, ears and tail were the same as ever, she even retained two breasts and the appropriate number of nipples. But she no longer could ever be mistaken for a human, covered in orange fur, looking for all the galaxy like a fox, or vixen rather, that had learned to walk on two legs and sported two hands and two feet rather than four clawed feet. There was absolutely no indication that this creature had been, only twenty-four hours ago, Rear Admiral Lintel.
The eyes were looking down the snout, down to the white linens and body shape that could be seen under that, radically different than before. The mouth opened, revealing more-or-less the same mouth, nose only slightly elongated and now a pinkish color rather than the normal human skin tone, and a feeble noise came out, somewhere between a whimper of fear and a questioning grunt.

Green started walking, beckoning her with him.
"Not much of historical value in the city, to be honest. Though there is something you might be interested in..." He called over a taxi, and despite the drivers reaction to the odd pair (awe and admiration for Green, signficantly more awe and admiration for Dui), they were at the location Green had mentioned within twenty minutes, actually outside of the city limits. He stepped out of the cab, and it drove away.
The two Colonels were at the top of a hill...and what a hill it was. There was a beautiful view of the entire city, and all the approaches, nooks, and crannies could be seen. Eight massive pillars soared into the heavens from the hill, each with a roman numeral (I through VIII). From this hill, one had a godlike view of the city. Which was, of course, the point.
"This is the hill were Marshal Blane made his last stand to protect the Emperor. The siege had lasted three years, and Mantebo had finally driven into the city, smashing aside the defenses. Blane took the Emperor and his best battalion of troops-six hundred Praetorian Guards. They retreated to the hill and held out against two hundred thousand men. Two hundred thousand." He shook his head in wonder. "It never ceases to amaze me, even now. Six hundred against two hundred thousand...for two hours. Two hours, and all six hundred were dead, as well as Blane. The Emperor was captured...but the bodies of twelve thousand rebel troops littered the slopes. The trees are all new; they had been blasted apart by shot and shell during the assault. After the war, Maxellian dedicated this hill as the memorial for the war. On those pillars," he said, gesturing to them, "are the names of every man who died fighting for Maxellian and the Emperor. That is, those we know."
He stood looking over the city and took a deep breath.
"I try to come here whenever I can. For them."

Across the city, the Xiscapian marines were entering bars and brothels arm in arm with Republican Guardsmen. Just because the Guards didn't drink didn't mean they wouldn't get the Marines so wasted they couldn't tell up from down.

Shez

The doctors muttered to themselves at the strange sight. Finally, one came forward.
"Rear Admiral? Are you alright?"

Dui gazed down at the city for a time, high upon the hill, down into the sprawl. She looked sideways at Green. "A memorial to the soldiers of your enemy and your own," she said quietly. "I suppose, in the end, neither side was so different that they did not warrant being remembered for their sacrifices." She gave a small sigh. "It is an honorable thing." She turned and took in the eight pillars, towering above them, inscribed with the names of thousands. "We have something like this, in the middle of Rio Casa, two black cortosis blocks with the names of the fallen carved in gold into the side. But it is only our fallen," she shook her head, "we possess no slab large enough the fit the names of all those who died."

Shez...
The eyes rolled back to look at the doctor who had spoken. Lips moved, harsh, gutteral sounds coming from them, before Lintel seemed to be able to get her voice under control. "What...?" she asked weakly in just above a whisper, apparently unable to summon the strength to say more.

"Yes. There is a similar memorial at the remains of Agrimonus Delta which is even larger." He sighed and looked back at the pillars.
"My two uncles are on pillar IV, somewhere near the top." He looked back over the city and shook his head.
"And as a bonus," he added with a glimmer in his eye, "it gets romantic during the sunset."

Shez

"We...don't really know, Rear Admiral. About half of your troops fell into comas. You're the first to wake up, but...you just...changed."

"Yes," said Dui distantly, lost in thought, staring down at the city. But the moment passed, and she was apparently oblivious to his words, although a glimmer in her eyes and the slight, coy smile that crossed her lips suggested otherwise.
"Where to next, tour guide?"

Shez...
"I...noticed," she said with obvious effort, trying to sit up but falling back with a groan. "How, others?" She closed her eyes. "How are they?"

Green shrugged, not put off at all.
"We can take a tour of the city. It's a good town, really. Entirely recycled buildings, dont you know, from the rubble of the battle..." he continued on, leading the Colonel downhill where they could catch a ride back to the city. He foresaw an enjoyable afternoon ahead of him.

Shez

"Still in a coma so far as our last reports indicate. We can check on that for you," he said, and at those words one of the orderlies rushed out to get a status report.
"Assuming they do what you did, I guess they'll be fine...assuming that you are fine, of course. If you don't mind, Rear Admiral, we would like to do some tests..." he beckoned forward a Kitsune doctor who had not been compromised by the coma bout.

ooc: So far as Green and Dui are concerned, don't worry about posting about them for a bit-Green is giving her a tour of the city amidst admiring crowds, and they'll be occupied for a while.

OOC: In that case...
IC:
In some bar some place, a Xiscapian Marine had been getting himself nice and wasted, when abruptly an idea came to him, an old story his father had told him. Sauntering casually around to a pool table, he chatted with his fellow soldiers for a while, then strolled over to the bar, nodding to the bartender. He directed the man's attention across the room, where a single cup had been placed just in front of the far wall, a good fifteen feet. "Ten of your currency says I can piss from here into that cup over there and I won't miss a single drop." A grin was flashed from under spiked silver hair, orange eyes glittering mischievously; obviously the Xiscapian was confident, cocky even.

Shez...
"If you don't mind, Rear Admiral," the doctor bowed his head submissively, as if Lintel could say otherwise, and motioned for her to open her mouth. "Let's have a look at those teeth..."
Some fifteen minutes later it had been determined, to the best of the ability of the kitsune doctor that the Rear Admiral was in perfect health, aside from the expected disorientation and occasional clumsiness that came with her new body. Of course more comprehensive tests would be required, but the Rear Admiral was adamant about being released, and as the doctors were under her command and the Setulan would have taken the shirts off their backs and given them to her, no one refused.

Sadly, her uniform no longer fit, but an expert Setulan tailor was called for, and after some uncomfortable, rather mortifying minutes (for the tailor) when Lintel stood nude so he could measure her, he had formed her old black Rear Admiral's uniform to an appropriate size and shape to accommodate her new form. Despite remaining a bit clumsy, stumbling into walls or mispronouncing words here and there, Lintel demanded to be allowed to continue her meeting with the Setulan leaders, if they would see her. Others were beginning to wake, and the fur colors so far included, aside from rust red, a deeper, richer red, silver, gray, white, tawny and black. However, all were basically the same as Lintel, with the expected additions or subtractions based on gender and physical condition before the change. It was estimated that, at the current rate, all the afflicted crew would be conscious and in their new forms in less than seventy-two hours. Many of these, however, required help in adjusting, both mentally and physically, and looked to Setulan doctors and psychologists for help in addition to their own medical workers.

The bartender may have been in awe of the Kitsune, but he was far from stupid. He had been serving soldiers in his bar for years, had even served for a while in the Planetary Guard, and figured a con was on...but what the hell.
"I'll take that bet. But if you get piss on my floor, you can clean it up," he said. He crossed his arms and prepared to lose his money.

Shez

The Rear Admiral was of course granted leave to see the Council of Leaders, and she was guided back into the same room as previously. Just as last time, the Leaders were all there; and just as last time, they all stood as she entered.
"Rear Admiral, I trust you are well?" said Maxellian formaly. None commented on her change in appearance-they had all heard from the doctors what had happened to many of the Kitsune.

The other Kitsune waking up had aide-lots of it. Doctors from all over the system had converged on Veto once the Xiscapians had started collapsing, and they all wanted a piece of helping the Kitsune recover so they could find out what the hell had happened.

"Right, mate, no worries," the Marine winked and, unzipping his pants, aimed and began to try to get his fluids into the cup. He failed miserably: None of it even came close, splashing on the floor, forming a yellow pool. The bar was full of snickering, laughter and suggestive comments, and with a grin the Marine hitched up his pants and dipped into his pocket for his wallet, taking out a ten-credit bill. The bartender was laughing now at the foolish action, but the Xiscapian kept smiling, unworried Accepting the money, the bartender leaned on the bar and asked him, "You just lost the bet. Why are you still smiling?"
The kitsune jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "I bet one of the guys over there twenty credits that I could piss all over your bar and you'd laugh about it." He turned now, speaking to the patrons of drink in general. "Anybody got a mop and bucket handy, need to clean my poor friends floor for 'em!"

Shez...
Lintel bowed ackwardly. "All things considered, it could have been worse," she said somewhat gruffly, easing into the chair she had occupied before. "You will have to accept my apologies for this behavior, and sincere thanks for your fast and efficent response towards myself and my men."

The change proved tramuatic to some, and they had to undergo conditioning and seek help to assist them in adjusting. Others, however, took it in stride, but most seemed to consider it an amusing, if strange, transformation.

The bartender chuckled.
"Get this saucy sonovabitch a mop and bucket!" one of the bar keepers went to get one amidst laughter from the surrounding crowd. The bartender shook his head as the marine started to wipe up the floor. He pocketed the money with a grin and went back to pulling drinks.

Shez

Marchamp smiled aphably.
"It was our pleasure, Rear Admiral. We are glad we could help our allies in some way in small repayment for the debt we owe you." The Leaders waited for Lintel to get comfortable before Tempes spoke up.
"Rear Admiral, I believe we were speaking of terms for some sort of alliance before you were taken ill?"

The Setulanite doctors were bewildered by the sudden change, but they all felt the same-relieved that their allies would be ok. News was quickly sent to the Marines and Guardsmen on leave on the planet below, and even more rejoicing and general rowdiness began all over the city.

Shez...
"Yes," Lintel made an effort to cross her legs before finally giving up and settling back into the chair. "If you wish, we can make a official, formal Treaty right here if you wish, a simple non-aggression and trade pact to start with which can be expanded on with the talks. I can contact my superiors in the Kitsune Empire for guidance and support if there is anything I cannot handle or if you need to speak with one of them personally while the Treaty is being drawn up. However, I would rather we continue the Q and A session for a time, so you are aware of and comfortable with all aspects of our society, culture and history."

"Fair enough," said Tempes. Maxellian nodded.
"In that case, allow me to tell you some about our culture, and then you can do the same."
Maxellian seemed to...change. It was not a physical change, excepting that he sat up straighter; indeed, it was almost inperceptible. But nonetheless, Lintel would be able to clearly feel an aura of power around the man. The aura that a speaker has when he is getting warmed up.

"Setulan is ancient, Rear Admiral. For all we know, our civilization stretches back thousands of years, to when the first ever human colonists arrived on the planet. We do not know much about them, as they quickly engaged in intercine warfare that lasted for a thousand years. What little we do know was destroyed when the Archive burned during the Great War.
"We know that Setulan was ruled by the Emperors for about six thousand years. We know almost for a fact the events that led up to the Great War. Indeed, we even know some of the events from the Emperor Prior to Alphonso. But after the War, Setulan had a...culture vaccuum, if you will.
"We had absolutely nothing to hold us to our past. Many thought that the Great War had actually destroyed us as a people, and that without a past we had no future. Fortunately, we proved them wrong.
"We made our own culture, for the most part. We believe strongly in the death penalty, for one thing; our past experiences with the monsters of the Great War made our people imune to most death. As a rule of thumb, Setulanite law is harsh in its punishment. Rape and murder are capital crimes, as well as the illegal sale of prohbitied controlled substances. Theft and other forms of lesser crimes often have severe punishments as well (though obviously not death).
"Religion is something of a sticking point. The Church of the Emperor was the main religion of our people for thousands of years, but the death of the Emperor and his entire line ended that rather abruptly. Recently, the hidden cults of the pagan gods which used to be prevelant throughout the system had sprung back up, and while many invoke the names of the Gods in their cursing, few actually worship them. Most Setulanites are spiritually adrift.
"For some reason, our people have an instinctive fear of any AI. It is strange; we don't know why. But for as long as we can remember, any form of souless life has been forbidden. We have not broken that tenent, despite many of the changes made in the way our system works.
"Another tremendous crime in Setulan is the mistreatment of women. It is not an official law; that would violate the tenents of the Republic. That being said, under the Emperors, women were more object than person. That is one thing we are better off without, and sometimes jurys are...zealous...in their persecution of the old ways." He leaned back.
"If you have any questions, Rear Admiral, feel free to ask. If not, would you be so kind as to tell me about your culture?"

Lintel listened quietly, nodding to herself. In some ways, the Setulan and kitsune were not that different at all. "In the Empire rape, slavery and murder also carry the death penalty, and are the only three crimes that do excepting justifiable homicide and self-defense when murder is concerned. Something we have in abundance is bathhouses, there are few things most kitsune enjoy more than a good soak, and sports such as soccer, sparring and a curious, recent sport known as Nuzz-Ball-Zero-G, standing for Nuzzle Ball Zero Gravity, which involves rules which I am not familiar with.

Xiscapia has never denied females the same rights males share or any such other barbaric practices, indeed a high percentile of Navy personnel, notably Officers and Pilots, are female. However, first-generation aliens are almost never accepted into the military, even humans, for a variety of reasons, though if you are an alien but are an Xiscapian citizen and were born in our nation it is a possibility. As to religon, we worship a god we know as Qonn, whose name means 'Guardian' in our native language, the god of kitsune. It is he who changed us during the Ascension, and," she briefly looked down at herself, "it is probably he who our Church will say changed us in what many will undoubtedly call the Second Ascension. Our priests are pacifists and are teachers of a sort, helping people understand and use their abilities-"

At that moment the door behind Lintel opened and her Executive Officer stumbled inside, panting, grasping the frame. Lintel stood, startled, fearing her First Officer was having an attack of his own, but he raised his hand, getting his breathing under control. "A report from the Motherland," he gasped, steadying himself. "The Wuin System is under attack by a Danaversian force. The Palace is recalling the Second Exploratory Fleet to Xiscapia, Rear Admiral, and orders you to return at once, even if damaged."

Rear Admiral Lintel stood stock-still for a moment, before looking over his shoulder, muzzle resting on it as her eyes probed around the Setulan. "My apologies for this grievous interruption," she turned and bowed to them, "but my people have need of myself, my ships and my men. Take my suggestion: Send a diplomat with us, or come yourselves, no war will stop a Treaty from going into effect."

At the news the Marines were being shuttled back up to the station and crewers were rushing to get the ships ready for launch. The Laughing Man was still not in any condition to fight or move under her own power, so the Battleship would, once again, have to be towed back to Xiscapia. Some were still wounded, and a few still in their comas, and had to be rushed aboard the Gem to be treated both on the voyage and when they returned home.

"A moment, Admiral!" Called out Maxellian. Lintel stopped and turned around curiously.
Maxellian gave a knowing look to his comrades. Their faces were grim, but all nodded at him.
"Rear Admiral Lintel, you will not fight alone." Grim resolve showed on the faces of all the men, and it was then that their true calling was obvious. They may have been diplomats and leaders...but at heart, they were still soldiers.

Three Minutes Later

"This is Anchor Steven Miloten, Setulan News Network. Just in, President Maxellian has called an emergency session of the Setulanite House with urgent news regarding our newfound allies, the Kitsune Empire of Xiscapia.
"All across Setulan, Xiscapian marines who have been put on leave are rapidly heading back to their ships. We have news that several Planetary Guard Divisions, on alert and on Veto since the Kewen assault, are rapidly boarding transport ships that will take them to an undetermined location..."

Green was with Dui when an out of breath Planetary Guardsmen caught up with the two of them in Setulan Prime.
"What the hell is it?" asked Green, annoyed.
"Colonel, you are to report back to Veto immediately for deployment to Xiscapia!" Green looked at Dui.
"Well, damn," he said in dissapointment. "I havn't even taken you out to dinner yet!" the Guardsmen was oblivious to the comment, to busy catching his breath.
"Sorry, sir. Both of you are."

Maxellian had promised that the Xiscapian ships would not leave alone...and they wouldn't.
"I'm sorry this is all we can send at such short notice," said Delanphy apologetically as he sat with Lintel in the shuttle back to Veto. "Maxellian needs to confront to House before he can deploy more troops than he already is. As it is, Task Force Eternal Pain will go with you back to Xiscapia. Fortunately, if you can call it that, we had several Divisions mobilized already once Colony 1 came under attack. The 11th and 34th Heavy Divisions will tag along, as well as the 76th Mechanized. Those are the Planetary Guard units. We will also be shipping over the 1st Republican Infantry. Colonel Green will be in command, you may have met him. I'll be going with you back to Xiscapia."

ooc:I'll have the official speech by Maxellian in the other thread, but this should be good for now ^_^

"Both of us?" Dui asked incredulously. "What the hell for?"
Her communicator vox crackled and she picked it up, speaking into the device. "Colonel Dui, what is this nonsense about going back to Xiscapia?"
She listened, and both Green and the Guardsman would see her pale slightly even as a smile spread across her lips. "Thank you." She shut down the vox and turned to Green. "One of our systems is under attack by another nation, no doubt the Emperor will want all troops and fleets not on guard at the Motherland." she explained, nodding to the Guardsman to lead the way to the nearest transport.

Shuttle...
Lintel chuckled at the Setulan's words. "Oh, is that all," she said dryly. "I have a feeling your military will prove an asset in the coming firestorm. Once we reach Xiscapia, I will leave you, and you will probably meet with the Emperor. I have a fleet to organize, but if you would accompany aboard the Carrier Xeno, once we get underway I will teach you some of the finer points of etiquette you'll need to know when meeting Xiscapian Royalty."

"Well damn," said Green thoughtfully as the two officers hurried after the private. "I guess the Council thinks the same way I do after all. Hell, I might want to run for office!" he grinned. Twenty minutes later, they were on a shuttle to Veto.
"Looks like you'll have a chance to show me your home after all," Green said comfortably.
"Sir, communique from Supreme Command for you." Green arched an eyebrow.
"Supreme Command?" he looked at Dui. "Supreme Command is the Council of Leaders itself." He took the proffered slip and read it over quickly.
"Well damn," he said. He handed the slip to Dui.

OPPERATIONAL IMMEDIATE-
GREEN, MIKE (COLONEL) IS TO ASSUME COMMAND OF 1ST REPUBLICAN INFANTRY. SUPPORT OUR NEW ALLIES. GIVE THEM HELL FROM ALL OF US.
MAXELLIAN, PRESIDENT

Veto

Marchamp nodded affably.
"Of course, of course. We'll be ready to leave whenever you are."

OOC: Are they going to Xiscapia first, or the contested system? I don't want to post in the other thread until the Emperor knows about them anyway, so...

Dui grinned. "Give them hell for all of us? Nice, I'd love to see that on one of my official statements." She handed it back to him. "I'd save that if I were you, frame it, make a nice story for the kiddies..." She thought about the implications of that for a moment. "Anyway," she said hastily, trying not to follow that line of thought to the inevitable conclusion, "Xiscapia's a beautiful planet, although we probably won't have a lot of time for sight-seeing, not until later anyway. I'd be happy to show you around, like you gave me the grand tour of the city."

Fleet...
Roughly half an hour later the Second Exploratory Fleet, still damaged but in considerably better condition than before, manned by full kitsune crew and officers, got underway. It was more or less the same formation as before, with the Destroyer Inescapable leading the way, followed by the four Cruisers towing the Laughing Man, then the Medical Ship Gem and finally the Carrier Xeno. Lintel was in the guest room on Xeno with Marchamp, reserved for visiting or accompanying Ambassadors, which was what the Setulan was. They were waiting for the Setulan fleet to join up with them, but since everything read Green and all the preperations had been made, the Rear Admiral didn't see any reason not to start now. "So, Marchamp," she turned to him from the digitized porthole showing space outside via a camera fixed to the hull, "ready to begin your lesson?"

"Yes, Maxellian was a soldier first and a diplomat second." He didn't press the subject about the showing kiddies, though.
"I think I might frame it after all. And I'll enjoy such a tour." Ten minutes later, the shuttle had stopped at Veto and the officers were en route.

Fleet

Marchamp nodded.
"Please. I'd rather not make some error that would get me executed."

Pulling out of their berths as Marchamp spoke was Task Force Eternal Pain, Admiral Marcus Grant commanding. He stood on the bridge, steady as a rock, and opened a link to the Xiscapians.
"Whenever your ready, Rear Admiral, we can make the jump."
The divisions were in specially modified Cobra- Class destroyers. They were ready.

OOC: ORBAT of the Task Force...
1 Devastator-Class Battleship (Eternal Pain)
2 Harm-Class Carrier Cruisers (Militant, Longevity)
6 Fear-Class Cruisers (Raw Power, Adele, Majesty, Demolisher, Duke Leopold, Grast)
4 Terror-Class cruisers (Wail, Mother’s Blood, Vile Desecration, Baron)
15 Setulan-Class Frigates (Orange, Red, Green, Yellow, Blue), three-ship squadrons
21 Storm-Class Frigates (Eagle, Hawk, Raven, Falcon, Vulture, Heron, Owl), three-ship squadrons
24 Cobra-Class Destroyers (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta*, Echo*, Foxtrot*), four ship squadrons

*Squadrons carrying the Setulanite Divisions

Finally, Dui and Green were forced to part ways, to go and attend to their own troops. Standing at the station, each with their back to the hall they would shortly walk down to their ships, both of the soldiers looked at each other. "I'll give you that tour," Dui stepped close to Green, looking up at him, about a foot of height separating the kitsune and the human, eyes locking with his. "Even if this war lasts a hundred years, by Qonn I'll make sure you see Xiscapia with me." The passion was evident in her voice, and she stood tall, lips brushing his for an instant, before she stepped back, a warm smile on her face. "That's a promise."
And then she was gone.

Xeno, Guest Quarters...
Lintel chuckled. "The Emperor wouldn't execute you for anything as slight as a breach in etiquette, he's too polite for that, he holds sapient life in too high a regard, he doesn’t actually hold the power to have anyone killed." She stepped back from Marchamp, looking at him, privately admiring how casually he spoke and acted around her, despite her new form. Even her own crew and troops were awed, curious and a little afraid of her, but it could be because they had known her for years, while Marchamp had known her, both her physical body and her as a person, for less than two days.

"The first and most important action is the bow. Generally speaking, the guest or lower-ranking person bows first, but this is not strictly observed. How low you bow indicates how much you respect a person, though a slight bow may merely mean you are familiar with the being you are bowing to and can disperse with such formalities quickly. As a rule, a standard bow is executed with the back straight, hands at your sides and eyes downcast from the one you are bowing to; to keep your eyes on the receiver of the bow implicates you distrust them. Bend to about thirty degrees, though more is acceptable in this situation, and less will not be commented on, though some may disapprove if you perform less than is standard for the Emperor.

The second regards bathing. I highly doubt the Emperor will ask you to accompany him to the baths unless you indicate that you wish it to be so, but just in case I will teach you. You must understand that to bath is to relax, not to clean yourself: Traditionally, one showers before entering the bathhouse. If it is a public bath, it will be more like a large heated pool than anything else, heated geothermically by hot springs, but beware: Baths are done completely nude, and are rarely segregated between genders. It may be permissible to cover yourself with a washcloth which ties to cover across the groin and buttocks, but as I said, I highly doubt you will be made to do this, and you will not have to go though the experience unless you choose to do so willingly.

What I will mention now is closer to common manners than anything we have constructed. This will not be required at the Palace, but when entering a residence, the home of a person or persons, you will usually be required to leave your shoes at the door, so you won't track in filth. Kitsune, as you might have guessed, have sensitive hearing, and anything above the threshold of a shouting person is physically painful to us. Our soldiers have to be specially augmented so they can fight without the risk of their eardrums bursting or blood running from their ears, so I caution against doing anything overly loud unless you must, and if you do so be sure to warn others in the area. I doubt this final issue will be a problem, but one way Xiscapians deal with the problem of a person they dislike but must endure is to ignore, or shun them. They act like the person does not exist, not responding to words or actions, but this shunning is often confused with either simple lack of notice on our part of a person or when an kitsune is in a great hurry and cannot respond.

This education is very basic, but it is all you will need for interaction in the Palace. If you forget or misstep, please do not fear: We are a forgiving people, we won't hold any errors against you." Lintel smiled. "You will do fine; there's is nothing to it."

It had taken some time to move the patients back onto the ships and round up all the soldiers and crew on leave, but the Xiscapian fleet finally got underway. Coordinating with the Setulan, they jumped away with their new allies close behind, bound for Xiscapia.
OOC: TG

Green watched Dui's retreating figure for a moment, bewildered by the sudden show of passion. A trooper came up to him.
"Uh, Colonel? The regiment is getting ready to embark..."
Green shook his head.
"Right. Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Let's go!" He rushed towards the ship, a slight smile on his face, and the trooper tagged along behind, looking just as confused as the Colonel had a moment before.

Xeno

Marchamp absorbed the Lintel's words, soaking them up like a sponge. His was a unique talent-he only needed to be told anything once, and he could remember it to his dying day. Indeed, he had sometimes surprised random passersby when he would pull one over and shake his hand because he remembered them from his days during the Great War. He smiled.
"I'm glad to hear I won't be executed, yes. But please tell me, what is the Emperor like?"

Xeno...
Lintel bared her teeth in a smile. "The Emperor is compassionate, patriotic, fair, peaceful and a peace-maker. He was a farmer, from the day he was born into his teenage years, where he then became a scholar for four years, and finally a soldier. He ran for office when our last Emperor resigned, and won it despite stiff competition. He's led us though several wars, multiple assassination attempts, at least a dozen conflicts and a host of diplomatic relations, social and cultural upheavals and the kidnapping of his wife, Empress Jade, during the days of the Rebellion. He is a pillar of stability and wisdom, and has put his own life on the line for the people and our allies more than once. He is a great man," said Lintel passionately, "but you will have to form your own opinion of him when you meet him yourself."

OOC: Sorry, but I think we should transfer both the actual combat and the meeting to the Dawn of War thread, it would be convenient and it might get confusing trying to do things in two separate threads. My apologies, but I think we should shut this thread down and move everything to Dawn of War.